


Sunshine, Freesias, and Prison Uniforms

by Lilac_Summers_99



Category: A Heist With Markiplier (Web Series), Markiplier TV (Web Series), Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series)
Genre: Eric Derekson Deserves Love, Eventual Romance, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends, Yancy Deserves Love as Well, i mean its a yancy and eric fic so it comes with the territory lmao, it be like that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28444398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilac_Summers_99/pseuds/Lilac_Summers_99
Summary: Eric has a garden all to himself. It's where the least Iplier of the Ipliers goes to put his mind at ease. It would seem that the newest of the Ipliers, a guarded ex-con named Yancy, has similar ideas.Alternatively: The one where Eric loves flower language and Dark is a protective father.
Relationships: Eric Derekson/Yancy (A Heist with Markiplier)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. A Meeting Most Isolated

Eric smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as he slipped out the backdoor of Iplier Manor. As much as he liked the other egos, he found them all to be a little too hectic for his tastes. He supposed that was just what happened when there were so many of them gathered into one house. Even with Dark giving everyone their own room in the manor, it still felt a little too cozy from time to time. Especially when new egos showed up! It had seemed that an unusual amount of them had appeared in the last couple of weeks. 

First, there had been Captain Magnum. An absolute behemoth of a pirate who drew attention wherever he went in the manor. He'd honestly seemed a little scary when Eric had first met him, but he'd proven to be good-natured after a while. He loved to tell the Jim twins all about his adventures from sailing the seven seas, and being in the good graces of the two brothers was more telling than most would realize. Enigmatic and strange as the Jims might seem, Eric knew that they were excellent judges of character. If they felt that Captain Magnum was kinder than his gruff looks suggested, then he'd trust in them. They'd eventually been proven right, too, when Captain Magnum had been enlisted by King to help him with his squirrels. As far as Eric was concerned, anybody who was a friend to King's squirrels was somebody worth trusting. 

Then there had been the adventurer! Illinois Jones was his name, and discovering ancient artifacts was his game. He was a little more par for the course when it came to the Ipliers. Cunning, suave, roguishly handsome, and probably a bit too aware of it. Still, Eric had found himself pleasantly surprised by how kind and genuine the explorer was. It seemed that Illinois also had a soft spot for animals. It was a trait that Eric was beginning to suspect was more common amongst the Ipliers than many of them would willingly admit. He'd only discovered this by chance. Illinois had wanted to see the latest results of Eric's flower garden. Had watched with a sort of quiet awe as butterflies of all colors flitted around the open space. Had been delighted when one landed on his outstretched hand. With that, he'd secured himself a spot as one of Eric's friends. 

Now, there were whispers of a third ego! Another room had appeared in Iplier Manor. This one was sparsely furnished and uncomfortably sterile for Eric's taste. Even Dr. Iplier had raised an eyebrow at it, but Dark had been quick to clear everyone out of the room after it had been discovered. Eric had overheard some of the others talking about the new ego's arrival at lunch. Apparently, he was due to arrive today! While Eric had gotten accustomed to meeting new faces and eventually growing to like them, there was always that initial feeling of unease that crept over him. Hence him leaving before the ego could show up. 

Eric knew it was a little rude for him to duck out on the ego before he'd even given the guy a chance, but he could always introduce himself later. For now, he wanted nothing more than to relax in the garden with the freesias he'd managed to grow. Southern California was much warmer than Cincinnatti had been, which was both a blessing and a curse when it came to his attempts at gardening. Some flowers really thrived in the hot, dry climate when others simply withered away despite all the research and work Eric put into maintaining them. The freesias were his latest passion project. They added a soft burst of color to the gardens and filled the air with their sweet, vaguely fruity scent. Freesias in various shades of red, purple, and yellow were what he'd earned from all his work in the soil. 

Eric had looked forward to spending a little alone time with his garden. There weren't many things in the world that he could say were the result of his own time and effort. This small patch of land, though, was entirely his. Dark had been generous enough to let him have free reign over it all in exchange for an occasional bouquet. Eric had been more than happy to make that deal, and he knew that Dark appreciated the carefully arranged flowers more than he'd ever let on. Eric caught onto it in the way Dark's form would solidify, and in the way the ringing around him always faded away when he gave him a bouquet. He actually planned to make him one from the freesias! 

That was what was on his mind while he walked through the Iplier Manor grounds. The harsh, Californian sunlight was softened by the trees lining the estate. It filtered in through the leaves, leaving everything bathed in a gentle, golden light as the afternoon wore on. The quiet twittering of songbirds echoed all around him. Eric felt a wave of contentment wash over him as he stepped under the small, wooden trellis that acted as a doorway to his garden. He hoped to have it covered in climbing roses come fall. His fanciful musings were interrupted when he abruptly froze at the edge of his haven. 

A face, one that was both familiar and unfamiliar, stared back at him with thinly-veiled surprise. Eric felt the blood rush to his face as he fidgeted with his handkerchief a moment. The stranger had warm brown eyes and reminded him dimly of the earth he worked with his own hands. Tattoos scattered across toned, tanned skin. He even had a hesitant grin that seemed to soften the sharpness of his jawline. Under normal circumstances, Eric likely would've found him to be quite handsome. Nothing in Iplier Manor provided normal circumstances, though, and Eric only felt his stomach knot up with dread at the sight of the man. Neither of them spoke. Eric didn't know what to say, not when fear and anxiety made his head throb painfully. 

Anxiety because he knew this was the new ego that the others had been talking about. The very one he had come here to avoid until he was able to work up the courage to speak with him on his own time. That idea was meant to be Eric's safety net of sorts. A metaphorical get-out-of-jail-free card so he could skip out on social interaction until he was prepared for it. It had never occurred to him that someone else would come to his garden. Not when everyone else knew to steer clear of it unless Eric himself had offered to show them something there. It was supposed to be his refuge from the noise of Iplier Manor. A space that he had total control over. Not that the new ego would know that, admittedly, but he still felt a dull, useless sort of anger curl in his belly. 

Fear because he was still in his black and white prison uniform. Logically, Eric knew that innocent people went to prison. People who committed non-violent crimes went to prison. People who committed petty crimes sometimes went to prison. Just because this man had come from someplace called Happy Trails penitentiary, it didn't mean he was inherently an awful or violent person. That logic would've worked if he wasn't an Iplier. Ipliers didn't do petty. If they felt like breaking the law, they went all out. Guns blazing, eyes flashing, and maniacal laughter bouncing off the walls while they did their dirty deeds. So, using the Iplier brand of logic, it was more than likely that this new ego had done something truly terrible to have landed himself in prison.

_And Eric was alone with him, in his garden that was far away from the noise of Iplier Manor._


	2. Underneath the Barren Trellis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yancy is curious and a little too flirtatious for his own good. Eric is trying not to succumb entirely to the grips of his growing anxiety. Dark wonders where the newest ego has run off to. It isn't the strangest day at Iplier Manor, not by a long shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write! School is starting back up for me on Monday, so I've been getting things together for that. My posting schedule should be a little more consistent once I've gotten back into the groove of university!

The silence stretched on painfully between the pair. Eric felt his face warm further as the new ego's eyes raked over him. There was still that curiosity in his eyes, the sort that had him shivering despite the warmth in the air. Eric's fidgeting with the handkerchief stopped when the man walked over to him. 

"So..." the man began, his voice a low, rough drawl that reminded Eric of something he'd once heard in a musical. "Youse another one of my lookalikes, ain'tcha?" he asked. 

"L-Lookalikes?" Eric repeated, wincing at how high and strained his voice sounded. The man nodded. 

"Yeah! The man in the suit was tellin' me all about youse! Said there was a buncha guys here who looked like me but weren't me," he said. He gestured to the tattoo on his right hand. Eric felt the panicked screaming in his head come to a halt at the sight of the names tattooed on the man's knuckles. Mark on the left, Dark on the right. He had the sneaking suspicion that those tattoos weren't new at all and that the man had had them for years. Just another strange thread in a massive blanket that connected the Ipliers. "Name was Dark, right? Funny lookin' fella wit' the sickly skin," he added.

"Y-Yeah, um... S-Sounds like Dark. He's i-in charge of... O-Of all of us," Eric explained, his voice soft and caution filled. He tugged at his handkerchief once again. He knew it was selfish, but he really wished Dark was here right now. He barely understood the whole ego concept himself, so how was he supposed to explain it all to this new guy? 

"Youse gotta name, pretty boy?" the man asked, a mischievous gleam flickering in his eyes as he held out his hand. Eric reacted automatically, some old training from when he was in business school kicking in as he shook the stranger's hand. He barely registered the nickname. When he did, though, it left his head spinning slightly. That was awfully friendly behavior from a guy he'd just met, wasn't it? 

"Eric. Eric D-Derekson, um... Wh-What's your name?" Eric asked, worrying the handkerchief in his free hand as the man squeezed his other one tight. 

"Eric Derekson, huh? Think I've heard that one before. On TV or somethin'," he muttered, finally letting go of Eric's hand after a moment. Eric's eyes widened slightly as his face flushed even darker. Great, he'd probably seen those god awful commercials that Mark had them film! "Name's Yancy! Ain't too often I get to meet new folks like this," he said, giving a little shrug of his shoulders. His smile widened a bit as he motioned to the garden. "Y'know, all outside and stuff. Wit' real flowers," he added. 

"O-Oh, um... Y-You'll get to m-meet a lot of n-new people here," Eric said, his voice soft. He felt panic ravel gently around his heart and lungs. Just enough that he felt the exertion of his every beat and couldn't take as deep a breath as he'd have liked. A sort of careful curiosity splashed across Yancy's face for a moment. 

"Yeah?" he asked, that warm drawl thickening for a moment. "Youse been here a while, ain'tcha?" he ventured. Eric nodded. 

"N-Nearly a year, yeah," Eric murmured. His gaze wavered, his eyes focusing on the freesias just behind Yancy. His fingers twisted up in the handkerchief once more. It didn't go unnoticed by the other man. 

"Think youse can give me the grand tour, then? Always liked bein' outside, s'good for my complexion," he said, that playful grin curling at his lips once more. His voice had become more gentle, the roughness slowly bleeding away before it was replaced with something a little more comforting. What was utterly ridiculous was that it worked. Somewhere between the accent and the tempered roughness in his voice, Yancy was actually making Eric feel better. A veritable stranger, one that had intruded in his garden, was making him feel a little less panicked. That wasn't even the most ridiculous thing, either! 

_It was that Eric was actually thinking about giving Yancy a damn tour!_

The side of him that was in charge of evaluating risks to his personal health seemed to switch quickly between pulling overtime and doing nothing at all. He was either on red alert near Yancy, ready to bolt if he made any suspicious movements, or he was genuinely considering giving him a tour. It left Eric all tongue-tied, feeling useless and uncomfortably hot as the tips of his ears burned red. 

Before he got the chance to stammer out a reply, there was another presence in the garden. A slight ringing filled the air as Dark walked past Eric. His eyes were cold and aloof, fixated squarely on the new ego as he stood between them. 

"Yancy. Eric. I see you two have become... Acquainted," Dark commented. He spoke slowly, his voice low and vaguely threatening as it always was. Yancy's smile faltered slightly at the sight of Dark, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back. "Yancy and I will leave you to your gardening. I think it would be in his best interests if I showed him to his room. Moving from the penitentiary must have been quite tiresome, yes?" he asked. A single brow arched up carefully as he spoke. Eric shrank back against a hedge as he fussed with his handkerchief again. 

"... Yeah, suppose I am pretty tired," Yancy finally said. He gave Dark a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders, but the gesture looked almost forced. "Guess youse oughta show me on to the house," he added. That earlier roughness was back full force. Any trace of warmth in his eyes had gone away as well, leaving them cold and hardened as he stared Dark down. Eric watched as the pair walked off together. Yancy hesitated a moment, then glanced back at him over his shoulder before he grinned again. "It was nice meetin' youse, pretty boy! We'll just hafta save that tour for later, won't we?" he called. Eric felt a shy sort of grin tug at his lips as he nodded. It seemed to be enough for the man because his smile only widened before he spun back around to follow after Dark. 

Eric couldn't help but heave out a sigh of relief when they were gone. He walked over to one of his freesia plants and busied himself with looking at the blooms. His hands shook, though, and he eventually gave up on trying to get any good cuttings. He sat down on the wooden bench swing a moment, then leaned back until he was staring up at the trees. He let his head rest against the back of the bench while he slowly pushed himself back and forth in the swing. It was nice in the garden. Blissfully quiet now without Yancy talking and Dark ringing. 

_Eric had the feeling that the quiet wouldn't last._


End file.
